Now, over the past eight years, I’ve written quite a bit about the acclaimed New York-based electro pop act SOFI TUKKER, and as you may recall with the release of their full-length debut Treehouse, which was released earlier this year, the duo of Sophie Hawley Weld and Tucker Halpern further cemented an internationally recognized profile for thumping, tribal house that draws from Latin, African and other world music genres; in fact, smash hit single “Best Friend,” received a Grammy nod and was featured in an ad campaign for the iPhone X.
Treehouse’s latest single “Benadryl” is a slow-burning and atmospheric bit of house music centered around thumping beats, shimmering synths, a chopped and screwed-like vocal sample and Hawley Held’s sultry cooing — and while gauzy and somewhat lysergic, the duo explain that the track is a “cryptic break-up song,” meant to evoke and reflect the feelings of being caught in an emotional and physical stupor. “Being in a relationship that you shouldn’t really be in anymore is a lot like taking Benadryl: it puts you in a kind of distracted, dreamlike stupid in which it’s hard to focus. This song is about getting out of that Benadryl-like trance.”
Directed by Philip Lopez and shot in the outskirts of Miami, the recently released video will further cement the duo’s reputation for pairing escapist visuals to their club-friendly song but unlike the previously released videos, this new clip reveals an aching vulnerability, as it captures the duo at points in a weary trance.
Currently SOFI TUKKER is in the middle of a lengthy international tour. Check out the remaining dates below.
